It Was Times Like These
by JoeyJar99
Summary: Austin and Ally have a day at the park and Austin goes through all levels of attraction towards Ally from just being friends to not seeing he ever found her attractive to loving her and then thinking he has chance no with her. Possibly slightly OOC and Rated T to be safe though K is probably more accurate.


**Hey, so, I have a new one-shot (can I get some applause? No? Well, sorry, I'm working on updating _Austin & Ally Rush_ fast as I can, OK people?). I thought of this when my sister took me and my dog to the park. I don't know if any other parks are like this, cause I'm basing it off of the one I went to and we go to frquently. There's a lake and, like, five different playgrounds and I _think_ there's a first aid building but we've never been in that bulding so I can't say for sure, I think someone said it was... And I have no clue if there's an attendant. It's pretty open, no fences, like a lot of parks have (at least I think) and there's a little boat place but I don't mention anything like that in here so ignore that! This is all one story, one plot line, the bold is just comments. Like, the bold could be taken out. Each section continues into the next so... I hope that helps clarifies any possible confusion... Enjoy! (I hope)**

* * *

**It was times like these he could see why they were friends…**

"I just love the park!"

"Oh really?" Austin Moon looks down at his best friend, Ally Dawson, who has just about the biggest smile on her face and looked like a puppy who hasn't been out all week, as they make their way into the park "I couldn't tell."

"I just love everything about it," she continues, not noticing his sarcasm or even that he talked at all, "The birds chirp, there are flowers and puppies. The kids always look so excited. The ducks and geese, I_ love_ geese. Though, of course, they don't look like Pickles, but I still love them! And the people are so interesting, sure some are kinda rude and that makes me sad, but you meet lot of good ones too. And the fresh air and sunshine!" she spreads her arm wide, and spins around with closed eyes.

"I would have never pegged Ally Dawson as someone who loves the park."

"And why not?" she stops to look up at him curiously.

"Because Ally is our serious, mature friend. Who knew that she had an inner child," he reaches over to tickle her and she quickly smacks his hands away.

"Stop it!" she squeals with a happy tone and he shakes his head, chuckling, as he pulls his hands back to his side. _She's ridiculous._

"Oh yeah, and I wouldn't have pegged Austin Moon as a Big Time Rush fan!"

He sobers up, "I thought we were never talking about that again."

"And I thought you were too manly to like a boy band. Though…you middle name _is_ Monica…"

"Ally!"

"Sorry, sorry, that was over the line."

They're quiet for a second before erupting into giggles, laughs blending together perfectly.

"OK, point taken."

**It was times like these he couldn't see what he ****_ever_**** saw in her…**

_"Carry on my wayward son / There'll be peace when you are done / Lay your weary head to rest / Don't you cry no more,"_ rings though the air around them, and continues into a guitar solo.

Ally indentifies it quickly and turns to Austin, "Austin Monica Moon, you have your phone?! You're parents took that away from you for a week on Tuesday and 3 days later, you have it! They took it away to teach you a lesson! Do you have no respect for that?! And another thing—"

"—Relax, Ally!" he interrupts, quite irritable, "They gave it to me because I was going out and they wanted me to be able to call if something happened. Don't worry, as soon as I go home, it goes back under their custody," he looks at the caller I.D., "In fact, it's my mom. Probably calling to remind me of the people I can pick up for."

He hits the answer call button, "Hey Mom!" a pause, "Yep, at the park with Ally, just like I said," another pause, "Oh, don't worry, she already read me the right act. I don't need you to too," pause accompanied by a rolling of his eyes, "I'm sorry," pause, "Yes, got it," half a pause, "Ye—Mo-Mom! I got it! Go-go—" he cuts off, curling his lips into his mouth, tightly, "Yes, Mom, we will. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. K, bye Mom. By-_bye_!" he ends the call and looks at the phone with wide eyes and a tight expression.

"Thanks Mom…" he mumbles before turning to Ally, with a fake, forced smile, "Yep, I was right, that exact thing. Thankyou _so_ much…"

**It was times like these he could see why he found her attractive…**

"I…I'm sorry…" she apologizes quietly, too quiet for his liking, "I didn't mean to explode on you. I just didn't want you to get in more trouble then you already are. I know how much you rely on your phone and you're one of my best friends…" she peeks up at him, "I'm sorry," she repeats, louder but even more guilt ridden.

The thing about Ally is that he knows she's sincere. Those words coming out of any other girl's mouth and he would have thought they were playing with him (because, let's face it, that string of words could easily have an underlaying motive) but that fact that she let it get to her enough that she apologized when she believes in herself more than anyone he knew. That she didn't just brush it off but took it in and felt _herself_ at fault.

It meant something.

That's why he knew if he accepted her apology, he wasn't letting go of any of his pride. He was just being the best friend he was to her.

And best friends may go through the toughest hardships, but they never hesitate to accept an apology.

They know the other means it.

"It's fine," he mutters, "I probably shouldn't have blown up on you either."

"No, I deserved that. It was only fair."

He wants to argue but he knows that letting her think that would let her feel better sooner.

The logic makes no sense to him but he's not a girl.

"Yeah…" he nods, sounding thoughtful, and then speaks normally, "Then I take back my apology."

Her head snaps up, "What?

"Well, you said that it was only fair that I yelled at you after you yelled at me and it's pointless to apologize for something that didn't need apologizing."

"What? You can't just take back an apology!"

"Too late, I already did."

"But you already said it!"

"Yeah, well, I take it back. I never said it. It never happened."

"Then how come I remember it?"

He moves her hair from in front of her ear with one hand as the other acts as it pulling something from it. He holds that hand up, "No, you don't. See this right here? This is that memory. And look," he throws it over his shoulder, "It's gone," he dusts his hands off.

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"But I still remember it."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you only _think_ you remember it because your brain is all 'Hey, wasn't there something here?' and is trying to fill that hole but really it's trying to find something long gone. It's sad, really," he shakes his head in mock-sympathy.

She laughs and he smiles at it.

And just like that, they're good again.

"You're crazy."

"_I'm crazy_? _You're_ the one with the hallucinating brain."

"My brain is not — _SWINGS_!" she runs forward before finished her sentence.

"'You're brain's not swings'?" he asks before looking ahead of her at what in the world she's running to. He sees that she's sprinting towards the playground and shakes his head with an adoring laugh, watching her for a second before jogging to catch up with her.

**It was times like these he could see why he has a crush on her…**

When he gets there, she's already on the swing set. He leans against the support, with crossed arms and a smile, "You know you're weird, right?"

"Eh!" she shrugs, well, as much as you can when you're in the act of pumping your body to try to get some height.

He laughs again, and sits on the swing next to her, pumping his legs too to get the momentum.

"Hey Austin?" Ally asks a few minutes later.

"Yeah, Ally-gater?" he's been trying out the new nickname. He was getting tired of 'Alls', mostly cause everyone and their dog were starting to call her that. He wanted something different.

"Would you do me a weird favor?"

"What is it?"

"Well…This is gonna sound kinda weird but, sometimes when I swing, I like to close my eyes cause it, well…"

"'Well', what?"

"It kinda makes me feel like I'm flying _**{1}**_," she admits, shyly, "but since my eyes'll be closed, can you tell me if there's any creepy people around?"

"OK…But define _creepy_ peop—"

"—Austin!"

"Fine, fine. Go ahead, I'll keep an eye out."

"Thankyou!" she smiles extra wide and gives her legs another pump.

He does a sweep of the park, making sure there was no one, before closing his eyes too, testing her theory. She was right; you can just picture yourself flying through clouds, maybe with occasional birds around. He quickly opens his eyes again, and then takes in their surroundings again.

Ally's soaring figure catches his eye and he slowly, almost cautiously, looks over at her.

She's never looked more beautiful.

The sun is shining on her face, her hair flowing out behind her, peacefully closed eyes and she a big, open smile plastered on her lips. He watches her, practically hypnotized not being able to look away.

**It was times like these he could see why he was in love with her…**

Suddenly, he finds the vision ripped from his sight and his body laying on the rubber mat and tanbark bellow.

"Ow…" he moans, involuntarily.

Ally's eyes snap open at the sound and she glances next to her and sees her blonde companion on the floor, "Austin!" she hops of the swing, gracefully sticking the landing a few feet in front of her. She hurries over to him, kneeling in front of her just as he's sitting up, propping himself on his elbows.

"Are you OK?"

His head is spinning, not really being able to put anything together. Well, except for the fact the sun is right behind Ally, making her look like she's glowing, or an angel or something.

_'Huhuhuh…You're pretty…'_ his inner 5 year old almost says but his outer 16 year old self doesn't let it get out. Does he want to ruin it for the both of them?

But his heart beat does race.

"Sorta…" he groans, a hand reaches out to hold his temple.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

He looks at where her hand should be but just sees a blob of her skin color, "I don't know…" he looks back up at her head, "But there's, like, 3 of you… Did you find a cloning machine of something?"

"Uh, no, there's only one of me, as there always has been."

"Shoot," he hisses.

"Yeah, 'shoot'. Do you think you can stand?"

"Maybe…"

"Let's try it. Here," she reaches a hand to him and he focuses intently on it, making sure to grab it and not miss. She stands and carefully, but forcefully cause he's bigger than her, pulls him on his feet.

"I'm taking you first-aid, OK? Let me know if I'm going to fast," she swings one of his arms over her shoulders, holds that hand, and wraps her other arm around his waist, trying to steady him before starting to walk.

Though all he knows is that his whole body is tingling now.

He lets her lead them, him just focusing on putting one leg ahead of the other and getting his head to straighten out again. He loses track on how long it took but she suddenly stops and her arms unwrap, making him frown without knowing.

"OK, here we ar—Oh…Austin don't frown, you'll feel better in no time," she reassures and starts talking to the attendant. They have an attendant? This _park_ has a _first-aid_ _building_ _and_ an _attendant_. How out of it is he?

Ally immerges again, "OK, Austin, they agreed to look at you but for some reason I can't be in there with you, but I'll be right out here, OK?"

He nods, kinda sad and freaked at the same time.

She grabs both his upper arms and leans up to kiss him on the cheek. She lets go and he stumbles back.

"Ooo, sorry, I probably shouldn't have leaned on you," she winces and leads him inside.

That's not why he lost his balance.

They take him inside but he looks back at her with a frown. Why is she leaving?

"A-Ally?" he comments, much like a kid, at the attendant holding on to his arms once he can't see Ally anymore.

"She had to wait outside," the man comments.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, son, it's policy."

"'Son'? You're not my father. I want Ally. _Ally_!"

"Did you get a concussion? You're friend—"

"—Ally."

"Ally," the man continues, "told us you were doing fine. You just needed a little ice."

"I do just need ice," the tingles had sobered him up plenty but he still had a bump, "But I believe in stranger danger. I want my Ally." _Oh my gosh, did I just say MY Ally?!_

"'You're Ally'?" _Snap, he caught it too,_ "But she addressed you as her friend. Not boyfriend," the man sits him on the patient bed like the ones at doctors' offices and he sees another woman in there

"W-Well, that's cause we _are_ friends. _Just_ friends," he whispers the end to himself, sadly.

"What was that, honey?" the woman asks. Apparently, she's southern.

"N-Nothing…" he really looks at them and notices the woman has orange hair (which reminds him of Dez's) and the man is what he imagined Dr. L (a character from a book series Ally got him into) **_{2}_** to look like except he's not Italian, but American. And not hundreds of years old. And probably not gonna kill a bunch of people. Both attendants are at least 20. He was never good at guessing ages.

They share a knowing look. He knows that look. He frequently gets that look from his parents, and Ally's parents, and Trish and Dez, and really anyone that's around when he's with Ally.

It just makes him feel worse and he shrinks in his seat.

"I hate the doctors…" he mutters, resentfully. If only Ally was less distracting, he wouldn't be sitting her, feeling crumby.

"Oh, hon, this ain't the doctors."

"It looks like one…"

"Well…" she glances around, "OK, it kinda does, but think of it as more of a nurses."

"Still as scary…"

She gives him a sympathetic look, and then looks at Dr. L.

"So, hon, what's the problem?"

Austin stays quiet. This is not the girl he wants to call him pet names. _That_ girl is right outside, waiting for him to be done, probably worrying her brains out. Sure, answering the southern bell's questions would let him get out of this tortuous place sooner but he's settled on giving her silent treatment. He hasn't decided on Dr. L yet.

"What happened?" Southern Bell asks Dr. L, sensing that Austin wasn't gonna answer.

"Well, the young lady that came in here said that he fell off a swing."

"Did she say how high he fell from?"

"No, just saw him on the floor."

She sighs, turning back to the blonde, "Can I check your head for any bumps."

He looks at her blankly.

"Please?"

He doesn't say a word.

"You can get back out to your friend sooner," Dr. L adds.

Austin rolls his eyes at his tactic but turns his head anyway. Ally's probably chewing on her hair by now, or cleaning the bricks.

Southern Bell moves her hands to his head and, again, this is not the girl who he wanted to have their hands in his hair. Especially with rubber gloves. They keep pulling on the strands of his hair. Not comfortable.

He winces as she hits a tender spot and pulls his head away from her. That's not comfortable either.

"Sorry…" she pulls her hands away, "Will you turn you head the other way?"

He rolls his eyes and turns his head the other way. He's so glad Ally isn't in here. He'd get such a chastising if she saw him acting like this. Though if she was in here, he'd probably be more cooperative...

Curse her…

He winces again, and _really_ pulls his head away, giving Southern Bell a small glare. That's all he can muster when all her poking has been bringing the pain back. Go ahead, give him another reason to not like you.

"OK…" she says, before turning her back to him so she could grab something. She cracks an ice pack, raps it in a paper towel and hands it to him, "Here, just keep that on there. The pain should go away eventually."

He takes it, "Thanks…" he mumbles. What? He still has manners. He turns to Dr. L, "Can I go now?" it comes out tense and impatient.

"Sure, just sign this," he hands him a clipboard for the patient log. He looks at where Ally signed (under 'signed in by'. Why they need that, he has no clue. What if you take yourself in?), lightly smiles, then follows the line to under 'patient signature' (Again, why? What if the reason you were in here is because you lost your hands?) and signs there. He hands it back to Dr. L then applies the ice to his head.

Dr. L looks down at the clipboard, "Austin Moon…?" he reads then looks up at him, "As in…_the_…Austin Moon?"

He nods. He really doesn't need a crazed fan right now. Sure, he loves his fans, but not while his head is throbbing.

"Wait, if you're Austin Moon," Southern Bell starts, "Then that girl with you was Ally Dawson, wasn't it? Oooo, I just _love_ her!"

He looks over at her surprised. He thought no one knew who Ally was and here, the woman whom he kinda hates is fan girling over her.

"Yeah…" he responds, slowly, kinda weirded out, "She's the best," he can't help the smile growing on his face at mention of her.

He wishes he could, but he can't.

"And you sing her songs, right?"

"Yeah…" his smiles grows bigger. Most people say she writes his songs not that he sings her songs. It's…kinda nice...to hear it the other way...

"Well, let me tell you, you two make a _great_ match. I've never heard of such a dedicated duo before. But you…you two take the cake!"

"Thanks…" he has a full smile now, "But, if you'll excuse me, I kinda gotta get back out to her…—"

"Oh, of course! You gotta go back to your girlyfriend!"

He can't tell is she meant 'girlfriend' and decided to add a 'Y' at the end of 'girl' or was saying, like, '_gal_friend' or 'friend who also happens to be girl'.

_Ow!_ It hurts too much to think about it. He'll do that later.

"Uh…yeah…" he hops down from the counter and starts walking towards the door before Dr. L stops him.

"Wait!"

He turns back, "What?"

"All patients get a lollipop. Do you want one?" he presents a clear jar filled with lollipops. They're yellow and have a smiley face on them in black. Kinda weird but, _hey_, it's a lollipop.

He shrugs, "Sure," he reaches his hand in but pauses before he does anything, "Could I, um, get one for Ally, too? She's kinda a worrywart and maybe it'll make her feel better."

"Oh, of course!" Southern Bell says before Dr. L can even respond but he nods still.

Austin smiles and eagerly grabs two. Before he can pull his hand out, Dr. L whispers to him, "And good luck with Ally. You too would be cute together."

"You mean you think I have a chance?" he whispers back, with wide, shocked eyes, not believing what he's hearing.

"I think you have a pretty good one."

Austin's smile doubles and a little laugh escapes. He pulls his hand out, "Thanks," he whispers, "Bye!" he tells both of them

"Bye!" / "Bye, hon!"

He would've winced at the nickname but nothing can stop him now. He walks out with two lollipops in one hand and the other holding an ice pack up to his scalp even though it doesn't really hurt anymore.

**It was times like these he'd realize he has _no_ chance with her…**

"Hey, Ally, I got yo—" he stops in his tracks as he sees Ally surrounded by guys.

His heard starts hurting again, his heart joining in on the party, and his hand's about to be invited if any one of those guys starts moving in on her.

Why did she have to _swarmed_ by them? Sure, he knew she was gorgeous, but did every guy in the park have to suddenly to notice this (painfully obvious) fact and flock to her?

Oh, of course they flocked to her! Who would want to stay away from _that_ beauty if they could be closer? No one looks at a Van Gough from across the room and says, 'Oh, that's good enough for me' then walks away.

Why'd she have to be darn lovable?

One of them says something funny and she giggles making them all move an inch closer to her.

The sad thing is, she doesn't even realize all these guys are attracted to her. She probably just thinks they just wanted to talk to her or was keeping her company, not that all of them probably just wanna make out with her.

Little do they know, she's not that kind of girl.

Joke's on them.

And, truth is, neither is he. That's one of the many reasons they're a perfect match. Why do other guys have to think they're her perfect match too?!

Well, she does have pretty soft-looking lips…

And hypnotizing eyes…

Oh, who is he kidding, she's every guy's dream girl!

And not just her looks are dream material.

Everything about her.

And he's just an average guy. He doesn't deserve her attention. He should be thankful for the amount he's gotten, he's not gonna get anymore.

How did he _ever_ think he had a shot with her? Obviously, she's gonna go for an actor or some other singer or even these supermodel dudes. Seriously, Miami is _not_ known from freakishly good looking guys **_{3}_**.

For once is his life, Austin Moon felt inferior.

He should just leave her alone.

**It was times like these he'd realize he ****_did_****...**

He turns to walk away and just keep walking until it rains on him, cause, well, that's how it happens in the movies, when he hears a voice behind him.

"Hey, Austin!"

It's Ally's voice.

He turns around to face her and sees she's getting up from the guys, not even bothering to apologize. She walks up to him and he notices every single one of the guys glaring at him. He also notices she stands a tad bit closer than normal people do.

Wow, she's really close…

"What's up?" he asks looking down at her.

Has her eyes always been _this_ deep _or_ _this_ brown?

"How'd it go?"

"U-uh, fine. They gave me an ice pack so," he holds it up, "You can, um, get back to your friends over there. I'll be fine." He's never told such a big lie.

"Oh, them," she looks over at the group of guys, "They just wanna make out with me. _No, thankyou!_ I'm not that kind of girl, you know."

He nods, "I, uh, do. You sure you don't wanna hang out with them? I mean at least 20 guys fawning over you, isn't that every girl's dream?"

"_Most_ girls, sure. But I'd rather spend time with a best friend."

Oh my gosh, has she always looked at him like this?

And oh my gosh, is he seriously melting?

He really is.

Please don't faint. Please don't faint. Please don't faint. He's already been the first-aid once today, he does _not_ need to visit them again and stick Ally outside with The Swarm again.

Wow, her lips are pink. And soft looking…

He almost leans forward, attaching their lips, when he realizes he has no clue how she'd react to that and he's not gonna throw their friendship away just for some impulse. Having her in his life as a friend is better than not at all.

"Can, um, can we go? The guys over there are kinda checking me out and it's making me really uncomfortable," Ally whispers to him, not breaking eye contact.

"Oh, yeah, totally! But…" he trails off, glances over at the guys, then gently kisses her cheek. He lets his lips linger there for a second (noting her skin is _really_ soft) before pulling back and facing her shocked and confused and alarmed look.

"I figured that if I kissed you they might think we were together and maybe back off," he whispers, drowning in her eyes again.

"Oh…smart thinking…" she nods, proud of his plan.

It wasn't a plan.

"So, um, go now?"

"Yeah," she responds and turns 90°, her back facing the group and Austin follows suit. They walk forward, not glancing behind them once. Austin can feel the 20-something glares on his back but right now, he could care less. Cause the girl of his dreams just blew off a hoard of adoring, _good looking_ guys, to hang out with him, even though he's injured and they're probably walking to the car right now so they can head home.

He suddenly remembers what's in his hand, "Oh, hey Ally."

"Yeah?"

"I have something for you."

"You do?" she stops walking to look at him, curiosity etched on her face.

She looks so cute when she's confused.

"I, um," he looks down, "got you this," he hands her the lollipop and her expression immediately brightens.

She takes it from his hand, fingers brushing his, and looks down at it with a huge smile, "I love these! I haven't had one since I was 6! They were my favorite but I couldn't find them anymore," she looks up at him, "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, when I went to first-aid. Dr. L gave me one."

"'Dr. L'?" she asks, raising an eyebrow and he knows her inner book nerd is freaking and is preparing to chuck it in the nearest garbage can.

"Don't worry, it's not really him. He was American, not Italian. He just looks like what I imagine Dr. L to look like. I don't know his real name."

"Oh…So I'm not gonna die?"

"No, you're fine. Look," he takes the other one, opens it, and licks it. "I'm not dead, am I?"

"I don't know," she takes a step closer and his breath catches, "Have you always had that patch of dead flesh peeling off your face?"

"You watched 'Warm Bodies' again, didn't you?"

"Of course! It's Romeo and Juliet _with zombies_! It's romantic _and_ snarky. What's not to love?"

"The Bonies."

"Fair enough," she glances down at her lollipop.

"It's fine, Ally," he gently grabs it out of her hand, opens it, then puts it back in her hand, holding it up to her mouth. "Go on, you'll be fine. And if you die, I'll avenge you and I give you permission to haunt me."

She cracks a small smile at his joke but when she glances down at it, it's wiped off.

"Go on…"

She swallows then timidly sticks her tongue out and licks it.

He lets go of her hand, "See? That wasn't so bad."

She smiles the ghost of a smile and licks again, smiling wider.

He smiles at her adoringly.

He dumps the wrappers in the trash then joins her as they start on their trail again.

**It was times like these…**

A few moments later she suddenly slips her hand into his.

She doesn't remove it.

**…That gave him hope.**

* * *

_**Things To Know:**_  
**_{1}_** Anyone do this and think that? Or am I the only one?  
**_{2}_** Dr. L belongs to _The Secret Series_ by Pseudonymous Bosch  
**_{3}_** OK, I did_ not_ make a reference to _Zoolander_ on purpose!  
And also, I am not southern so if I did anything to insult those of you that are (I have no clue if there even is any that could've), but I am very sorry.

_**Disclaimer:**_  
I do not own_ Austin & Ally_, Big Time Rush, "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas, Dr. L, _Warm Bodies_.

_**JoeyJar99's Message:**_  
**I hope you liked this one-shot! I would like to mention that I'm coming out with a brand new story soon called "Who ARE You?". Here's what I'm putting for the summary:**

"No! This IS important! First he's my best friend, then he's 11, then a suave 16 year old bad boy, then has a stutter, then a poet, then a jock, then the freaking Doctor, and then from the 50's! And none of these characters have any memory of what the others have done, nor him himself!" I lower my voice, "So Dezmond Malone Shockley... I will ask you one more time...what...is up...with Austin?"

**Well...What do you think? This story is from Ally's point of view (or POV if you want to use the lingo). I know, weird, right? All of my stories are in 3rd person or from Austin's POV but it needs to be hers for a reason. It'll make more sense one I _actually_ publish the story. Oh, and I completely made up Dez's name. That's not canon... And, because you might be thinking, I will _not_ go on a huge break from it. I've already written 9 chapters for it so... Anway!...**

**Later. Over-and-Out. Live long and prosper.**


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